Gauthier Delomez (comments collected by Alexandre Chauveau) / Photo credits: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
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7:33 p.m., February 29, 2024
French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu visited a drone factory near Toulouse, shortly after the speech to the Nation given by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “When we represent a nuclear, military power, we have no right to be irresponsible and to escalate,” he said.
“The military capabilities of the (Russian) armed forces have been multiplied. They are advancing confidently in several directions,” declared Vladimir Putin on Thursday. In his speech to the Nation, the Russian President judged that Western threats created a “real” risk of nuclear conflict, in response to Emmanuel Macron’s speech, not excluding, at the start of the week, the sending troops to Ukraine, at war against Russia for more than two years.
While visiting a drone factory in Labège, near Toulouse this Thursday afternoon, Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu returned to the words of the master of the Kremlin. “When we represent a nuclear, military power, we have no right to be irresponsible and to escalate,” he initially said.
“Russia is showing new aggressiveness”
Sébastien Lecornu analyzed Vladimir Putin’s speech, adding that he had “also talked about the threats coming from the West and which weigh on the Russian Federation. This rhetoric, this speech which consists of pretending to be the victim and attacked it, while we all know very well that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine,” he criticized.
“And better than that,” continued the minister: “I had the opportunity to say it recently. Russia is showing a new aggressiveness and playing with thresholds, including with regard to French interests “. For Sébastien Lecornu, finally, “there should be no inversions in the narrative”.